


Soul Adaptation

by LordExplosion97



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adult Asriel Dreemurr, Alternate Universe - Asriel Dreemurr Lives, Asriel Is A Dick, Astell does her best, Female Frisk, Human/Monster War, Male Chara, Other, Teen Astell, Teen Chara, Teen Frisk, monster!chara
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-04 19:12:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12777621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordExplosion97/pseuds/LordExplosion97
Summary: Based on BlackRazorBill's Soul Dichromatism.





	1. Secure

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BlackRazorBill](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackRazorBill/gifts).



> Wow, this took way longer than I would've liked but hey, it's finished! Chapter 1 of this weird fucking fanfic I made out of boredom.

“Princess Astell, the last human has been restrained!”

Astell turned to Fuego, clenching her sword’s hilt nervously.

“Very well. Bring the human here.”

Fuego nodded and headed of to go get the human.

Astell looked around the decimated town while she waited. She knew people would die under her command each battle; this was war, after all. It still hurt to see it actually happen, though. What remained of her forces were now in the process of cleaning up the mess. Tamers were shooing the Amalgamates back into their crates, and the Soul-Claimers were busy collecting souls. Astell noticed that some souls had shattered moments after appearing; she guessed they were soldiers, and that they were trained to shatter their souls upon death.

…It meant this village had been mostly civilians; mostly non-combatants.

As if to confirm this, Astell looked at the body of a human child with a good portion of its head missing.

The princess looked away from the body in front of her, only for her gaze to land on her older brother.

“Asriel!”, said a surprised Astell.

“Howdy, Astell!”, said a smiling Asriel.

Astell runs to him and nearly tackles him. She normally doesn't get to see him, given that he's stationed far away.

“What are you doing here?”, she asked.

“What do you mean?”, he asked confused. “I came to see my little sister's first takeover.”

Astel felt both joy and sadness from Asriel’s answer. Before she could reply, Fuego and a group of monsters, one of them being Gaster, had returned, along with a struggling human.

“Here’s the human, your majesty.”, said Gaster coldly.

Astells eyes landed on the human. They were small when compared to Gaster, and slightly smaller than most human soldiers. Astell guessed that they hadn't even reached adulthood yet. Deep cuts could be clearly seen on their arms.  Blood poured from each of the humans wounds, seemingly coloring everything on them.

The human's eyes landed on Astell and immediately froze. Whatever they were feeling before was overshadowed by anger and hatred.

She did, however, see fear and pain in their eyes.

By now, the others had gathered around, curious to see the human.

“Princess, this human fought off one of my best soldiers.”, Gaster informed her.

Astell had to admit, that's pretty impressive. But it didn't make sense. If the human could defend itself that effectively, then surely it could fight back, yet none of her royal guards had been killed.

“She’s dead...you killed her! My mom…my friends…”, the human said, glaring daggers at Astell.   
  
Astell suddenly understood the pain she saw in their eyes.

"Princess, what is the sentence?", said Gaster. At this point, however, that question was just a formality; everyone knew what had to be done.   
  
The only option was to execute them. Monsters had tried keeping human prisoners in the past, but it never worked; humans would never give up trying to escape, and their natural physical strength and strong souls meant that if a human did manage to escape, many monsters would end up dead, especially if the human had a strong intent to kill. They had learned years ago that it was better to kill the humans and use their souls as fuel for their weapons.   
  
If monsters were ever captured by humans and made prisoner, they never lasted long either.   
  
Her train of thought was interrupted by footsteps approaching from behind her. Astell turned around and saw a short lizard wearing a gray hoodie: Alphys.

“I know I’m not suppose to be here, Astell.”, Alphys said to Astell. “Honestly, if Scales hadn’t been here, I’d be at home, watching some anime or something.”

What’s Scales doing here?!

Before Astell could ponder this, her eyes landed on the human again.

They were anxious and clearly waiting for her decision.

Her only option was to execute the human. However, she remembered something the royal scientist said.

Sans had asked for human determination. Astell didn't know what exactly it was, nor what it was used for, but she did know that it was in large part the source of a human's strength, extremely important to Sans' research, and in short supply. After all, dead humans couldn't produce any determination.

They might not kill this human after all.

Astell pulled out her cell phone and pressed a button, opening her dimensional box. She pulled out a small device shaped like a canine's skull. Sans had given it to her for an occasion like this, though she never expected to actually use it.

It was supposed to be a new way of restraining humans, supposedly by draining their determination. However, it was just an untested prototype; from what Astell had been told, the machine was just as likely to kill the human as it was to capture it. She took a step towards the human.

There was little fear present in their eyes. Instead, there was acceptance.

Something about that bothered her.

“Gaster, shackle them.”, said Astell.

“As you wish, princess.”, said Gaster.

He reached into his inventory and pulled out two pairs of shackles, quickly putting them onto the human's arms and legs.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Astell?”, asked Asriel, watching the human. This would be the first human captured in a long time; it was natural to have doubts.

“So, you destroy my town, kill everyone I know and loved, and now you're sparing me?”, asked the human, fuming with rage. “You're just gonna half-ass your attack?!”

Everyone, excluding Asriel and Gaster, flinched at the humans words. They know what they’ve done.

But this is a war, and that's what soldiers do.

Astell took a step toward the human, and reached toward them, her hand stopping just in front of their chest. She took a deep breath, then focused on drawing out the humans soul.   
  
Suddenly, a red glow came from the humans chest, followed by a small heart shape; their soul. Astell took it into her hand, observing it closely. Human souls came in all different colors. From what Astell had seen, no two soul colors were alike. Astell was unsure of why human souls came in so many different colors, and Dr. Sans’ research into it had been frustrating.   
  
It didn't matter. She had a job to do, and it didn't involve pondering the nature of souls. She raised the small skull-like object in her hand closer to the human's soul. When it came close, something seemed to activate it automatically. It floated off her hand and flew towards the soul. Suddenly, its jaws clamped down on the soul violently.   
  
The human shuddered, then screamed.

They fell onto the ground, thrashing wildly while their soul vibrated, as if trying to shake off the object that had clamped hold of their soul. It was clear that the human was in extreme pain. Suddenly, as if their voice was torn from their throat, the screaming stopped, but they were still gritting their teeth. Astell fought the urge to look away.   
  
The red in their soul was slowly starting to drain. When almost all the color had drained, leaving it a pure white, the impossible happened.   
  
Astells eyes were drawn immediately to the human's arm, where a patch of black fur was rapidly growing in. The human clutched at their shirt as their shape began changing, as if somehow that would make the process stop. Their limbs elongated, and their bones could be heard shifting within them. Astell guessed from the sound that it was painful.   
  
The human suddenly grasped their head in discomfort, as two bony protrusions shot out of the top of their skull. Their eyes widened in horror when they felt them, as if just now beginning to realize what was happening. Astell guessed what was coming next before she saw it happen; their face elongated into a muzzle and their teeth grew into fangs; their ears grew and became floppy, covered in white fur just like the rest of their new body. It finally stopped when the human had taken on the appearance of a goat-like beast.

They had become a Boss Monster, just like Astell.

The skull released the soul, which quickly went back into its owner's chest. The human- or, ex-human now- looked over their new body with a mix of confusion and pure horror. Finally, their gazed landed on Astell, their body shaking, terror in their eyes. Astell did their best to hide their own shock, but failed.   
  
The other monsters, Asriel included, were shocked as well. The silence that had permeated the area was replaced by talk amongst themselves.   
  
“A monster-“   
  
“Turned into a monster-“   
  
“But how, if the human-“   
  
“Does this mean we can change the humans into our own?”   
  
“We won’t have to kill-“   
  
“We can show them our way-“   
  
“We can win…”

A clamor started to erupt around. The air of fear and sorrow suddenly turned into joy, even as they stood in the middle of the corpses of the fallen. The monsters started to praise their ruler.   
  
“The princess did it! The princess found a way!”   
  
“We won’t have to kill! They can be like us!”   
  
“We’ll show them our way! We can be one people!”   
  
“We can win our peace! We can win the war!”

With each new cheer, Astell could feel the monster's hope rising. Without meaning to, Astell felt her own hope doing the same. Everyone in the square was shocked, from Papyrus, to Alphys, and even herself. But as a ruler, she did not have the luxury to show her surprise. Her people had to believe that this was intentional. Her people had to believe that a peaceful way to win had been found.   
  
But would it work? Could captured humans be turned into monsters? Could they learn to love like monsters did? Their ranks would increase, and there wouldn't have to be anymore executions. They couldn't handle captive humans, but they could handle captive monsters. Maybe the very people they were fighting against could be united with them.

Astell looked at Asriel, who was observing the ex-human intently. She knew that deep down, he was doubtful that this would actually work. He had no reason to believe that humans were worth saving, but maybe, just maybe, if they play their cards right, they can achieve peace.

Her eyes once again landed on the former human. It was clear that they too thought the transformation was intentional. She scanned their face, trying to judge what they were feeling. She saw confusion, fear, anger, but most of all, she saw something that was all too familiar to her.

Loss.


	2. Contain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at that! The second chapter! Cool, right?

As a monarch and a leader in the military, one of Astell's duties was paper filing. She paced around her office, holding a piece of paper in one hand and a pen in the other. No matter how quickly she tried to work, there were always more papers to file, and it didn't help that Asriel would show up suddenly and give her more. In all honesty, she could be getting everything done much more efficiently if she sat down at her desk that was only a feet away from her, but she could only sit still for so long before it became painfully monotonous.

At times like this, she thought back to her younger days longingly, when everything was simpler. She thought about how Asriel would tuck her in at night and read her a bedtime story, and how he would stay with her whenever she had a bad dream. She thought about how her father would let her help him with his garden. She thought about her mother making everyone pie.

…she thought about her mother being alive.

The only reason the monsters had been able to come to the surface was because a young human had been unfortunate enough to fall into the underground. Astells mother had found them, and despite her best efforts to heal the young human, their wounds from the fall proved fatal. Her mother had absorbed the human's soul in hopes to use it to find a way to peacefully free the underground. She spent so long traveling to the outside world, alone, bringing back the souls of naturally deceased humans. But in the end, her attempts failed, and she was murdered by the humans. Astell still vividly remembered her mother stumbling back through the barrier, her father's failed attempts to heal her, Asriel trying to convince her that everything was gonna be okay, and how she ultimately crumpled to dust in her father's arms. It had driven her father to madness.

King Asgore absorbed the souls that were already brought to the underground, crossed through the barrier, and proceeded to slaughter everyone in the village. Now with the power of seven human souls, he broke the barrier, freed the monsters, and declared war on humanity.

A millennia ago, humans declared war on monsterkind, and slaughtered over a dozen monsters, sealing the survivors underground. Astell once asked Asriel about the war, but he simply told her that she was too young, that he’d tell her when she was older.

And told her he did.

Now, with their King having gained the powers of a deity and humans having lost their science of magic, the monsters stood a chance. They decimated human towns, blocked humans’ weapons, missiles and planes. When countries sent out powerful bombs at their small force, the king redirected them to humans’ lands. It was a massacre; the humans stopped trying to kill off the invaders that way after that. They sent gases and viruses; useless on the magical bodies of monsters; they send out armed troops when they realized how weak monsters bodies were, and for a moment, it worked.

But then the royal scientist, Dr. Sans, found a way to weaponize the souls of deceased humans. He built soul-powered cannons, and discovered how to use the souls to create invulnerable monsters called Amalgamates. To this day, the Amalgamates were one of the most valuable weapons of war they had. But despite the monster king's strength, and their new weapons, monsters were still losing the war. Humans were too widespread, too numerous, and too persistent. If they destroyed one country, there were always others still willing to fight. Many of those countries were on islands or other hard to reach places, meaning the humans could retreat and rebuild their numbers. Monsters had no such luxury. Worse, their supplies were dwindling quickly, most notably their supply of human souls.   
  
Sometimes, Astell almost wished that they could have come to the surface peacefully. In fact, humans at one point attempted to negotiate a peace treaty with the monsters earlier in the war. But the king, still enraged at the loss of his wife, and the monsters, still celebrating their victories, rejected the offer. Now, after more than 30 years of war, peace was surely impossible. That is, until an accident had resulted in a human being transformed into one of their own kind. For the first time in a long time, they might have actually found a chance to have peace.

Astell set down the paper she was holding and stepped out of her office. She stopped for a moment on the bridge of her castle's wall to catch her breath and admire the beauty of the surface. She was stationed at a town called Greenlake, along with most her soldiers; the royal scientist, Doctor Sans; and the captain of the royal guard, Gaster. Greenlake itself was little more than a small town on the edge of the combat zone, just far enough away to be considered safe, but close enough to the front that she could be there quickly if she was needed. Despite it's proximity to the combat zone, civilian monsters lived in it just like any other monster town, which was good. Monsters who faced combat needed to be surrounded by positive influences to keep their hope up, and the colorful homes and friendliness of the civilian monsters living in border towns like Greenlake helped tremendously. Human towns always seemed to be dull and grey.

After the brief respite from her duty, she headed towards the white square building next to the castle. It was a fairly standard Royal Laboratory that was built some time ago. When news of the human turned monster reached Sans, he left his lab at the capitol and came straight to Greenlake to study them. Astell made it clear to Sans that the transformed human was to remain a secret for the time being, and she had also made sure that the monsters that had witnessed the transformation were sworn to secrecy. That didn't stop rumors from cropping up here and there, but they were rumors that filled her people with hope. She decided not to mess with them for now.  
  
As she entered the lab, she was surprised to see just how quickly it had become a mess. Sans was a brilliant scientist, but he was by no means clean, and it was clear that he had been working overtime to study the human more closely, which only served to exasperate the mess. She grimaced as she saw several packs of hotdogs on the table. It was most likely what both Sans _and_ the prisoner had been eating. Astell actually felt bad for the prisoner. She wouldn't wish Sans' hotdogs on anyone. Sans looked up from his work, surprised to see Astell.

“Astell! I mean, princess. What a surprise! “, said Sans. Astell found it cute how he tried to be formal with her.

“You can call me Astell, Sans.”, she said smiling. “I don't mind.”

Sans scratched the back of his head blushing.

"So how is the human... or, ex-human doing?" Astell asked.

“Well, his body seems stable for now, if that's what you mean. I think he's awake right now." Sans walked towards a computer monitor on the wall.

 _He_. Astell had wondered whether the human was male or female. Few monsters had been around humans enough to tell the difference between the two sexes.

The monitor Sans stood in front of flickered to life. On it was the image of a small white room with minimal furnishings. Sitting on the bed was the captive boss monster. His black fur had been cleaned thoroughly, Astell noticed, but he obviously hadn't been properly groomed. His fur was a mess. He appeared to be looking at his hands and turning it over again and again, as if trying to comprehend his new form.   
  
"I'm sure you've already figured it out, but I... I never would have thought this would happen. This could change everything we know about the link between humans and monsters," Sans said.   
  
"You said he was stable for now. Could that change in the future?", Astell asked. It was hard to believe that the monster on the screen was just recently a human strong enough to take on a royal guard.

"Well, I gave him a full check-up. From the outside, he appears to be a full monster. But, his body is still partly physical, and his soul is still technically a human soul. That's the problem. Human souls are always regenerating." Sans suddenly looked very curious, "and while I don't think we'll have any trouble containing him if it regenerates fully, his body may not be able to handle the full power of their soul. It doesn't seem to be a permanent change, at least on the soul level. If his soul changes back... I'm not sure he would survive."

Astell shuddered when she imagined the prisoner's body falling apart, or worse, melting.

"Can we use the soul drainer again?" Astell asked. They could not lose this human.  
  
"I wouldn't recommend it. It wasn't really designed be used multiple times. But I may have found something that will keep him stable, for a while at least.", Sans walked to a table which held many of his past projects and picked up what looked like a bracelet with a lock on it. "This will drain his souls energy at a steady rate. It should keep him stable. We'll have to drain its energy stores every now and then, but for now it should work."   
  
"When are you going to put it on him?" Astell asked.   
  
"As soon as possible. We don't want to take anymore risks.", replied Sans, heading towards the cell door when he finished. Astell stopped him.

“I’ll do it.”, she said.

Sans was a little surprised by that, but went with it.

“Okay.”, he said. "You shouldn't have to worry about him attacking you, he hasn't been much trouble, and he hasn't gained any LOVE. But... be careful. He's still partly physical." Sans handed Astell the drainer. Astell nodded. It was rare to find anyone these days that hadn't acquired LOVE.

“I’m always careful, Sans.”, said Astell, getting a chuckle out of Sans. “Now how does this work?", she asked.  
  
"It attaches to his soul automatically, like the soul drainer you used earlier. It has a transmitter, so I can keep track of it from here and make sure it's working properly. His soul is weak right now, so you might have a bit of trouble pulling it out, but I'm sure you'll manage.", Sans explained.   
  
With that, Astell headed for the cell door.

* * *

 

When the door slid open and Astell entered, the prisoner sat up on his bed and stared at her. He didn't bother hiding his surprise. She approached him slowly, trying to gauge whether or not he might lash out. She could feel surprise and curiosity in his aura, mixed with fear.

For the first time, she was actually able to take a good look at the prisoner. It was truly incredible just how thorough the transformation had been. He was taller now, taller than Astell, even. His horns were already bigger than Astell's own and had begun to curve . His brown eyes followed her intently. She also noticed that he had long, brown hair and a very long tail, just like her.

If she hadn't seen him before his transformation, she would never know that the boss monster she was looking at used to be human. For a monster that used to be human, he looked surprisingly nice. His fur had been crudely brushed and looked like he had a particularly rough night, but besides that, he was a reasonably good-looking boss-monster.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the princess herself.”, the prisoner said observantly. “Are you here to look at your handiwork? Well, go right ahead! It’s not like I can do anything about it.”

“Um...hello to you too.”, she said, surprised to feel no hate in his aura. "I need you to stand up. Please."

The prisoners expression became apprehensive as he stood up.

“Why?”, he asked, trying to hide his fear.

"It's nothing to worry about. I just need to see your soul for a moment.", Astell said, before realizing that perhaps messing with someone else's soul was, in fact, something to worry about. The prisoner froze, clearly disturbed by the request.   
  
"M-my soul? Why?", He asked in response, not even bothering to hide the fear in his aura. He had every reason to be nervous; the last time Frisk pulled out his soul had ended very poorly for him.   
  
"Your soul is currently... unstable. I need to put this… device on it to keep it safe.", Astell said, tapping on the side of the device in her hands. She decided that calling it a soul drainer would not help her case.

The prisoner looked at her, trying to see if she was lying.

“What if I say ‘no’?”, he asked.

“If you refuse, then your body will melt from the excess determination your soul gives off, which turns you into an Amalgamate.”, she explains.

The prisoner looked horrified at the thought of becoming one of those terrifying abominations.

“Fine.”, he said, forcing himself to calm down. “How does this work?”

“All you have to do is stand still.”, she told him. “I’ll do the rest.”

Astell was surprised to see the prisoner cooperating, albeit reluctantly. She walk a little closer to the prisoner, making sure he wasn't planning on attacking her. Sans said she wouldn't have to worry about him attacking, but it pays to be careful.

“Will it hurt?”, the prisoner asked, his voice filled with concern and fear.

“It shouldn't hurt.”, she said reassuringly. “But if it does, I apologize in advance.”

She placed her hand just in front of his chest and focused on pulling out his soul. Suddenly, a white heart came out of his chest, staying closer to its owner than the last time. Unlike a monsters soul, the prisoners soul was still upright. Small tendrils could be seen coming off of it, anchoring it to its owner's body. Astell noticed that traces of the souls energy were starting to come back: she could just make out a red outline forming on the edge of the heart.   
  
The human-monster stared curiously at the soul. Astell knew that humans had no way to draw out their souls, meaning that the only time humans ever saw souls were when they were being taken by monsters. It was certainly a unique experience for a human to see the soul of a still-living human, let alone their own soul. Astell lifted the soul drainer next to the heart. When it came close enough, it sprang to life, and quickly snapped around all three sides of the soul tightly. The lock on the drainer clicked into place, and it suddenly began constricting the soul violently.

The human-monster let out a sharp gasp, and fell back onto the bed to catch himself. Astell reached toward him to stabilize him, worried that the soul drainer may be severely hurting the valuable captive, but stopped when he raised his hand toward her. As the pain subsided, his shaking stopped and he was finally able to take in a deep breath. After a moment of catching his breath, he glared fiercely at Astell.

“Are you alright?”, Astell asked, worried about the prisoner.

“I don't know. I mean, I was just subjected to what was probably the _second most painful thing in my life._ ”, he said angrily.

“I didn't think it would hurt you…”, she admitted.

The human monster looked at her expression, seemingly realizing that she probably didn't intend to hurt him.

He was tempted to tell her that he was sorry for his outburst, but the image of her impaling his mother without a second thought stopped him in his tracks.

“Whatever.”, he said. “What's done is done. Nothing can change that.”

An awkward silence fell upon them, with the human monster avoiding looking at Astell, and Astell trying not to cringe at his words. The silence broke when Astell spoke.

“My name’s Astell.”, she said. “What's yours?”

“Charles Arendse.”, he replied. “My _friends and mom_ called me Chara.”

Astell felt a wave of guilt at Chara’s words. She knows what she did, and there's nothing she can do to change it.

All she can do now is hope that he’s able to adapt.

…though, she knows that won't be easy for him.

She got up and walked to the door, but before she walked out, she turned to Chara.

“Well…it was nice to meet you, Chara.”, she said.

Chara looked at her disdainfully.

“Too bad I can't say the same to you.”, he said through gritted teeth.

Astell placed a hand on her chest from the sting of his comment.

“I…I’ll see if I can get you some actual food.”

Chara seemed to ease up after hearing that.

“Thank you. But that doesn't change anything.”

Astell nodded and left the cell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At some point, you'll notice some differences between Soul Dichromatism's Frisk and Soul Adaptation's Chara, specifically how they handle the situation they're in. It'll become clear in later chapters.


	3. Know Your Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to mention this, Chara's hair looks something like this:
> 
> https://cneko-chan.deviantart.com/art/DAY-14-HOT-DAMN-CHARA-651085599

“More tea, Astell?”

“Yes. Thank you, father.”

The king smiled and poured Astell another cup and handed the tea to her. She picked the cup up carefully and blew on it.

King Asgore sipped his own tea carefully. Astell remembered the joyous man he once was, before any of this. She remembered how he would carry her on his head whenever she didn't want to walk. She remembered how he would get her all the Nice Cream she ever wanted.

She remembered him dressing up as Santa and leaving her presents on her bed.

Now, this man was no more; instead stood this powerful, yet sad being, walking the lonely path of godhood, almost constantly hooked to a draining machine to prevent the human consciousnesses inside his soul from taking over.

Astell couldn't begin to imagine the torture her father was currently going through.

No other monster wanted to try absorbing a soul. Monsters had become very careful not to absorb one by accident. Once the soul was absorbed, it was permanent. The few that had went mad and had to be put down.

Human souls were better used as fuel for war machines than gaining additional individual powers.

She looked to her left, where Asriel was sitting, sipping his own tea. He too absorbed a human soul. Though, unlike Asgore, he never needed to be hooked up to a machine.

Asriel had absorbed said soul when it’s owner came close to singlehandedly reclaiming their home. When Asriel returned, he immediately began meditating. For two months, Asriel did nothing but meditate, trying to keep the humans consciousness in check. When he finally finished, he smiled at his father and little sister, stating that he had full control of his new power.

However, Astell remembered something from that day.

Something that bothers her to this day.

She remembered the way he smiled. To Asgore, it was a smile of pure joy. To Astell, it looked victorious and…

Fake.

“How’s the human?”

Asgores question brought Astell out of her train of thought.

“Um…he’s alright.”, she said. “He’s…not violent, which is a good thing…he likes to read…um…”

Asriel watched his sister find her words.

“Well…he doesn't hate me, but he doesn't like me either. If I had to choose a word for how he feels about me, it would be ‘tolerance’.”

Astell looked at her father, who looked at her with a smile.

“Well, what were you expecting? You thought he’d be grateful to you after what happened?”, came Asriel’s response. “You launched an attack on his home, killed his friends and most likely his mother.”, said Asriel, taking a sip of his tea. “And to rub salt in the wound, you turn him into one of us. And now, here he is, stuck in an environment and a body he has no idea how to deal with, surrounded by the enemy and forced to fraternize with it.”

Astell felt guilt engulf her soul at her brother's words, because, no matter how nice she is to him, or what she tells him, she’ll never truly understand what he’s going through.

“I don't think it would be wise of me to meet this young man, for obvious reasons.”, the king said. “However, Astell, it would be a good idea for you and your friends to tend to his needs for the time being.”

“It won't work.”, said Asriel.

“Maybe it will, maybe it won't.”, said Asgore philosophically. “We won't know until we try, my son.”

Asriel finished his tea and rose up from his seat.

“I must be going now. I have some things I need to take care of.”, said Asriel as he walked to the door. “Farewell.”

When Asriel left the room, Asgore turned to his daughter with a smile.

“Shall we bake a cake, like we use to?”, he asked.

Astell smiled back at her father, remembering the times they spent baking ridiculously sized cakes.

“I’d like that.”

* * *

 

Asriel was surprised to see Alphys with Sans in the lab. She was a scientist as well, so it wasn't unusual to find her here.

They both were observing the prisoner through the monitor as he busied himself with a crossword puzzle, most likely from Sans.

“Good to see you, Asriel.”, said Alphys, startling Sans.

“Likewise, Alphys.”, said Asriel. “How’s Scales doing?”

“He’s doing alright. He’s been wondering about the human for a while. Now that he knows that he’s alive and captured, he wants to meet the human and become his friend.”, Alphys said chuckling.

“He’s not allowed in the lab.”, Asriel said bluntly.

“No need to worry, Az. I don't want Scales around this kid just yet.”, Alphys said.

Asriel felt more at ease upon hearing that. Scales, much like Sans, is a capable fighter. But he, along with their siblings, adamantly refuse to let either of them on the battlefield.

“So, what brings you here, Prince Asriel?”, asked Sans.

“I’m here to see the human.”, Asriel answered.

“Ah, trying to see what makes him tick?”, asked Alphys.

“Something like that.”, Asriel replied.

“I would tell you to be careful, but I know you can handle him.”, said Alphys.

Asriel nodded and took the path to the humans room. When he arrived, he had finished the crossword and was reading a book. It was most likely from Alphys.

Chara looked up from the book and raised an eyebrow at his new visitor.

He was the same type of monster as Astell and himself. One thing Chara noticed about this monster were the black markings on his face.

“You're not Astell.”, he said.

Asriel raised an eyebrow at this. So the prisoner already knows Astell's name.

He'll have to talk about that to Astell next time he sees her.

“No, I’m not.”, he said. “I’m her brother, Asriel.”

Chara looked at Asriel wide eyed.

“Asriel?”, he asked. “As in, Prince Asriel Dreemurr? Son of Asgore Dreemurr and previous heir to the throne?”

Asriel frowned. He was impressed that the prisoner knew this much about the royal family, but he hated being reminded that his father chose Astell over him.

“Correct.”, Asriel said.

Chara laughed at this.

“Wow, it must suck knowing that your crazy god of a father chose a murderer over you, huh?”, he taunted.

Asriel’s eye started to twitch.

“What do you mean, human?”, he asked.

Chara smirked.

“Don't you think it’s weird that he chose  _ her  _ over  _ you _ , his  _ first born _ ? If you ask me, I think he decided that you just didn't live up to his expectations. "

Asriel stared at the human, a calm expression on his face.

However, his aura suggests he was forcing himself not to kill the human.

“Doesn't it make your blood boil knowing your dad chose Astell? I mean, you’ve killed more humans than her, right? Unless, she’s the bloodthirsty one, and you're just a weak, pathetic, goat-looking piece of-”

_ SLASH _

Chara placed a hand on his left eye, screaming in pain.

“Watch your tongue, human.”, said Asriel as he wiped the blood off his rapier.

Chara didn't even see him move.

He looked at Asriel, trembling, blood trickling through his hands. He knew that taunting the prince was a bad idea, but, given how Astell never did anything, he figured her brother would be the same.

He never thought the guy would slash his eye out.

“Next time you step out of line, I’ll take more than just your eye.”, Asriel threatened. “Is that clear?”

Chara quickly nods his head.

“Good.”

Asriel sheaths his rapier and walks towards the door.

“I’ll send in Sans to tend to that wound.”, he said. “Don't forget what I said. If you show disrespect to me again, the consequences will be severe.”

And with that, Asriel left the room with a satisfied smile.


	4. Adapt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter for you guys!

Three weeks ago, Chara was a sixteen year old human. Three weeks ago, Chara was the adopted son of Meredith Arendse. Three weeks ago, Chara had been hanging out with his friends and girlfriend.

Three weeks ago, his life went to hell in a matter of seconds.

Looking back, it was hard to remember the exact details of what had happened that day. Everything had happened so quickly that it all blurred together into a mess of disorganized images and sounds. What he could remember vividly was that the town was attacked by monsters, Astell murdered his mother and girlfriend, and he himself was turned into a monster. Everyone else was slaughtered mercilessly, leaving Chara the sole survivor.

Now, he was trapped. There was no way to escape the cell he was in, and no way to escape the body he was trapped in. As he laid on the bed provided to him, he tried to focus on anything other than how bad things were, but that was impossible when it was his own body causing him such grief.

He almost wished he had died with the others.

Almost.

He tried turning over in his bed from one side to the other, only for a bony protrusion from his head to obstruct his effort. His  _ horns. _ Unable to get comfortable, he sat up and looked over his new body for the seventh time. He still wasn't used to it, but he was pretty certain he’d adjust. He’s certain that this change is permanent, so he might as well adapt.

The past few days had been a strange experience. Since he was trapped in a cell, he had very little to do other than be alone with his thoughts, so it was nearly impossible to ignore the changes that had been made to him. Every part of his body annoyed him in one way or the other. As a human, he used to sleep on his back, but now that was impossible because of his horns. Once, he tried wiping his eyes, only to accidentally scratch his own face with his new set of claws. He recalled when he was given a toothbrush and some other basic things for personal hygiene (he felt insulted when Astell told him he looked like a stray dog). He had gone to brush his teeth, only to be surprised by his new fangs. Even sitting down was annoying; every time he took a seat, he had to be very careful not to accidentally sit on his tail. He was already acutely aware of how strange his new fur felt on him and how he could see the edges of his snout in the center of his vision at nearly all times. The worst part, in his opinion, is showering. Fur feels  _ awful  _ after a shower.

He had other things to deal with, too. First, there was a skeleton-like monster scientist that seemed to be studying him, Sans. As far as he could tell, he was the one who made the equipment that had turned him from human to monster, and he was also tasked with keeping Chara alive in his new form. What struck him most about Sans, though, was just how  _ excited  _ he was around him. He had a near constant grin on his face, and eye contact with him was unnerving.

The other monster he had met was Astell. She appeared to be very similar to Chara in appearance; tall, with horns, a tail, and a vaguely goat-like face. The differences between them were that while Chara’s fur was black, Astell’s fur was snow white. Chara’s horns were also larger, and he was taller, too.

If he was being honest, she was pretty cute.

Astell was the monster that decided against executing him, and instead decided to transform him into one of their own. Based on her reaction, and the way Sans had been studying him, Chara assumed that he was the first person this had ever been done to.

It never stopped him from making a few comments, though.

And then, there’s Astell’s brother, Asriel Dreemurr.

Chara’s not sure how to feel about him, but, from his brief encounter and the way he looked at him, it’s clear that Asriel looks down on humanity.

Chara placed a hand on his bandaged eye, a gift Asriel left him the other day. Between losing an eye and losing his life, Chara is grateful that Asriel didn't just kill him.

…then again, he looked like he wanted to.

One thing that Chara is certain of, is that he can never go back home, and he can't escape. He’s become a traitor to humanity.

But that doesn't matter to him. All he can do is cooperate, and live his life. That's all he has to do.

Adapt to his new body and surroundings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if I'm doing this correctly, but I'll get better.
> 
> Anyway, chapter five comes out tomorrow.


	5. Star Wars or Ghostbusters?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter five, coming up!

Astell’s not sure how it happened, but conversations with Chara had slightly improved. Most of it consisted of small talk, but even Astell noticed an obvious shift in wariness. She found herself actually looking forward to talking with Chara.

Astell traversed Greenlake back to the lab again, her dimensional box containing an old TV and VHSs. Human books, movies and games were all collected when they could be, because almost every monster had a taste for at least one of those. Back in the underground, years ago, teenagers and adults would go to the garbage dump and collect those treasures fallen from human civilization. It had become one of their main bases for entertainment.

Still, she hoped Chara would enjoy her old movie collection. Sans and Alphys were human good fanatics as well, though most of Alphys’ interests were into something called ‘Anime’.

When Astell arrived at the lab, she was surprised to see that Sans wasn't there. Alphys wasn't there either, though she figured that one of them is nearby. They can't afford to leave the lab without surveillance. Instead of looking for one of them, she went straight to the cell.

When the door slid open, Chara was sitting on the bed, reading a book, shirtless. She figured that he enjoys reading, so she brought him different types of books, even the ones Alphys reads.

The grooming lessons she had given him were obviously having a huge effect on his personal hygiene. His fur was no longer the unkempt mess it had been, but was now a smooth, clean coat of black fluff. Even his horns seemed to be a bit shinier and more well taken care of than in the past, although she hadn’t given him any tips on horn care.

“Hello, Chara.”, said Astell smiling.

Chara looked up at Astell smiling. It wasn't a smile you give your friends, but one that said ‘ _no more boredom’._

“Hey, Astell.”, said Chara. “Is it lunch time already?”

“It’s 5 PM, Chara. It’s way past lunch time.”, she’s smiling as she this, until a thought crosses her mind. “Wait…did Sans not bring anything by?”

Chara raised an eyebrow at this.

“It's already 5? Guess that means I missed lunch.”, he said. “Did you bring anything to eat?”

“Yep. Brought some snacks and drinks, but I also got you something.”, Astell pulled out her cell phone from her pocket and opened one the dimensional boxes, then pulled out the VCR player, proudly showing off her gift.

If anything, Chara just seemed confused.

“The hell is that?”

“It’s a TV!”, she said, waiting for Chara’s expression to change.

“…that things old.”

Astell blinked.

“Um…I guess?”

“…this is really old.”, he concluded, still looking a bit baffled. “Is it even working?”

“Well, duh! Of course it’s working!”, she said, feeling insulted. “I’ve had it since I was a little girl.”

Chara looked at the set, then at Astell with a weird expression.

“You're old.”

Astell stared at Chara wide eyed before crossing her arms.

“I’ll have you know that I’m pretty young for my age.”

“You're still old.”

“I’m not!”

“How old are you?”

“39.”

Chara looked at Astell wide eyed.

“Holy shit, you're younger than I thought.”

Astell felt heat rush to her face.

“Well, that's what you get for assuming a girls age.”

Chara smirks.

“Princess, are...are you...blushing?"

Astell's face turned more red.

"No I'm not!", she said in an unintentional squeaky voice. "I'm just...not feeling well."

"Oh?", said Chara, walking up to her in a flirtatious manner. "So, it shouldn't bother you that I'm this close to you." He took a moment to observe her face, which had completely turned red. "Hm...now that I get a good look at you, you're pretty cute."

At that, Astell covered her face with her hands, which got a laugh out of Chara.

Truth be told, Chara enjoyed doing this to his girlfriend. Seeing her shy away from him whenever he started flirting always made him smile. Now he knows how to mess with Astell.

After what felt like hours, and Astell regaining her composure, she started going through her collection of movies.

One of the titles caught Chara’s attention.

“Is that Star Wars?”, he asked, smiling slightly before frowning. “Why do you only have episode two?”

“To be honest, I didn't even know I had it.”, she admitted. A part of her wondered why she never watched when she was younger. “So, should we watch something else? I have Ghostbusters.”

Astell noticed how Chara cringed at the suggestion.

“Nope, I choose Star Wars. Fair warning: it sucks ass. Picture some scenes as a comedy and you might enjoy it.”

Relieved to have finally found a movie, Astell popped the tape into the VCR player, and turned off the lights.

She was only able to watch the few minutes before she started dozing off. Chara’s comments at certain things, like the actors, something involving a camera, and the poorly written lines that made their presence known kept her up.

At some point in the movie, one of the characters massacred a community. Astell went rigid, and Chara stared ahead, trying to avoid eye contact. They both relaxed after it was over.

Sometime after that, she fell asleep.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Astell, wake up.”

She woke up groggily and stretched, noticing that she had fallen asleep on Chara’s shoulder.

“How long was I out?”, she asked as she got up.

“You fell asleep around the battle with Count Dooku.”, Chara answered.

So she had fallen asleep around the final battle.

And Chara never woke her up.

She walked to the door, but turned around before exiting.

“Sorry for using your shoulder as pillow.”, she said. “It must’ve been tempting to kill me at that moment.”

Chara looked at where Astell had been standing and realized that he actually could have killed her. She was asleep, and her guard was down, it would’ve been easy.

But Chara knew that even if he managed to kill her, there are several others he’d have to deal with.

And they’re all trained to kill humans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this marks the end of the daily updates. From here on out, updates will be random, and the story will branch of from Soul Dichromatism.
> 
> Until next chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> So I have this written up to five chapters, which will be posted daily. After that, updates will be random.
> 
> Give me your feedback on how I can improve.


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